TR2/3/3A Tr3 steering rocker shaft bushing

[ekamm]

I opened up my steering box and it really all looks great. My question is today, the rocker shaft fits well with only a slight amount of play. It was leaking from the seal evidently.I feel like I should replace the bushing, but I will have to hone the bushing and am not sure how to do that and get it perfect. As the old one is really not too bad I am afraid of making it worse.

 

[TR3driver]

I know the book says it has to be reamed, but mine fit perfectly without reaming.

My opinion, if you can feel any play at all, replace it. In retrospect, I'm sorry I didn't do it on the 56, as that may be the reason it doesn't steer as well as the 59 did after I overhauled it's steering box. I plan to address that next time I have the apron off. (The 56 has a solid column, no way to remove it without removing the apron.)

If it does need to be reamed, just buy a fixed "chucking" reamer (I forget the size offhand, but it is a standard size not .001" over or anything like that). A new "import" reamer should be under $30 at Enco

When you get the new reamer, take a sharpening stone or similar and dull the blades just a bit, so they don't dig into the relatively soft brass. Just a few strokes along each flute, with the stone held tangent to the reamer, should be all it takes.

Or if you can find a used reamer (on eBay etc), it will probably be pre-dulled :laugh:

If you don't have a chuck big enough to hold the reamer, you can grind flats on the end and use a socket plus T-bar wrench to turn it. Or a big tap holder if you've got one.

This is a tap rather than a reamer, but shows the basic idea: